


morning rituals

by Veniae



Series: the in-betweens [1]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, and also very silly about it, post-whitestone, you cannot tell me these two aren't vain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2016-08-02
Packaged: 2018-07-28 23:01:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7660369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veniae/pseuds/Veniae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Percy is not a morning person, but it's a sacrifice he makes in the name of style.</p>
            </blockquote>





	morning rituals

Percy wakes up to the unpleasant sensation of a root digging into his back. Groaning, he shuffles away and wraps his blanket tighter around himself. He can feel the grey morning light against his eyelids, but he’s not ready to face the humid, chilly air outside of his bedroll.

It has been years since the open skies replaced his lush bed canopy, but he still wakes up stiff and sore every morning.

He gets up, eventually, and stretches, trying to restore the blood flow in his limbs. He looks around at the sleeping forms of his friends, each curled up in their own blanket, Vex sprawled next to Trinket and half-hidden in the soft fur on his belly. He can’t keep himself from smiling, and it seems like the morning grows a bit warmer.

He tiptoes between the sleeping forms towards the outskirts of their camp.

“Morning, Scanlan.” His voice is gravelly and heavy with sleep.

Scanlan’s standing in front of a thick, tall oak currently covered in a reflective layer of sparkling magical energy. He’s holding a hairbrush in his mouth, so he just grunts in reply.

He ties his ponytail with a thin purple ribbon that matches the colour of his shirt--lavender today, it has a pearly grey sheen in the hazy light.

Percy shifts his attention to the makeshift mirror. His reflection frowns at the dark circles around his eyes, the hair that looks like a tangle of white yarn, the messy, wrinkled clothes.

He needs to stop going to bed wearing his travelling attire.

He takes out the small bag of toiletries he paid a good 50 gold pieces for, and proceeds to try and fix this mess. He wasn’t raised a de Rolo to walk around looking like a shadow demon on a bad hair day.

He first brushes his hair back and applies a thin layer of cream on his face. Autumn has rolled around, and the cutting wind is murder on his skin. It feels dry and irritated under his fingertips.

Scanlan is humming a quiet melody under his breath while he shapes his fringe into a soft ringlet. The song is different every morning; this one reminds Percy of the melancholy lullabies of a governess he used to have. His reflection smiles a little.

When he’s done with his face, he takes out his retractable comb. His hair has been getting long, and it takes him a good minute to get the knots out.

While Percy’s absorbed in the task at hand, Scanlan moves on to his sideburns. It’s always fascinating to watch him meticulously comb and style them, leaning towards the mirror in his intensity. He knows Percy finds it amusing, so he’s taken to pulling silly faces to spice up the process. Even after all this time, it still makes him crack up.

Percy’s own sideburns are nowhere near as magnificent, so he only has the rest of his hair to style. It’s an effortful process to turn this chaos into, well, slightly more controlled chaos.

Scanlan gets ready first. He looks at Percy in the mirror and raises a well-shaped eyebrow in silent question.

Percy pauses his own preparation and inspects him for a moment. Then he reaches down and tucks a stray lock into the ponytail. Scanlan gives him a lopsided smile for his trouble.

It takes Percy a few more minutes to tame his mass of hair. When he does, it’s Scanlan’s turn to give him a once-over.

“Well?” Percy urges him to disclose his verdict.

Scanlan doesn’t reply immediately, just tapping his chin in pretend contemplation. Then he grins and winks. “Dashingly handsome and just a touch dishevelled. No one could tell you used to bunk up with a vengeful demon up in there.”

“Not even a little bit? I thought it added to my roguish charm.”

“Well, when people say smoking is attractive, I’m not sure that’s exactly what they mean,” Scanlan shoots back.

Percy chuckles. “Fair enough.”

He pulls out a small flask from the front pocket of his bag and opens it. “To another day we make it through alive.” He takes a sip and hands the flask to Scanlan.

Scanlan’s still grinning as he puts the flask to his lips. “While looking completely irresistible,” he adds.

**Author's Note:**

> guess who got sucked into yet another fandom you guys............ no regrets tho critrole is awesome 10/10 would recommend 
> 
> i'm starting a series of small one-shots focusing on different pairs of characters and small interactions that take place between the major plot events, so stay tuned for more! 
> 
> thanks for reading! as always, comments are appreciated <3


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